I'm 5'4"—These Are the Only Skirts and Dresses I Wear

By now, I've been average height (aka 5'4") for a good 20 years. That's a long time, friends—plenty of time to figure out what clothing styles do and don't work for my quasi-petite frame. As I did recently with pants and jeans, I'm here to talk about the dresses and skirts that I wear (and the styles I forgo). 

Truth be told, I don't wear skirts and dresses all that much these days. I work remotely from home (on the East Coast) and keep it pretty casual day-to-day, but I think that makes me even more particular and thoughtful about which dress and skirt styles I choose to buy and wear. If I don't have a need for tons of them in my wardrobe, the styles I do buy should be ones I actually look forward to wearing.

So before we get to the skirt and dress styles that I do wear, let's talk about those that I don't. Basically, I skip maxi lengths in both skirts and dresses that err on the side of shapeless, as these tend to swallow up my frame. I also avoid knee-length styles, as I find that they make my legs appear shorter.

So now that you know which styles I avoid, read on for the six styles I find work the best for my 5'4" height. 

Miniskirts and Dresses

Given how long mini lengths make your legs look (no matter what your height is), short dresses and skirts are a petite girl's friend.

Wrap Skirts

The two things I love about wrap skirts are that they define your waste and that they oftentimes have a bit of a slit, which makes legs appear longer.

Pleated Skirts

Pleated skirts come in many forms, and I find most of them to work for every height.

Mid-Calf Slip Skirts and Dresses

I've always found that the body-skimming nature of silky slip skirts and dresses tend to make the wearer look taller—as long as it hits at the mid-calf point and not any higher.

Tea-Length Dresses

When wearing something on the longer side, I like to show a little ankle, as maxi lengths that go all the way to the ground make me appear shorter. So tea-length it is.

Fit-and-Flare Dresses

Fit-and-flare dresses look great on basically everyone, so it's a no-brainer style no matter how tall or petite you are.

Next up, the best style advice for shorter women.